100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 702 - Return

Lilith returned to Lootwell before Lucien did.

He learned that almost immediately after coming back from the preserved region.

He expected her to report directly to him.

She did not.

Instead, when Lucien passed one of the quieter halls, he noticed two familiar figures seated together.

Lilith and Seraphine.

They were speaking seriously.

Every now and then, one of them chuckled.

Lucien slowed.

A bad feeling appeared.

Those two did not usually sit together like that unless the topic was important.

Or dangerous.

Or him.

Usually him.

Lucien considered approaching them.

Then Seraphine said something too softly for him to hear.

Lilith covered her mouth.

Both women laughed.

Lucien immediately changed his mind.

He continued walking.

Some things were better left undisturbed.

He respected private conversations.

Especially conversations that might eventually become his problem.

•••

Lilith came to see him later that day.

Lucien was already waiting inside his office when she entered.

A strange smile rested on the Solhorn woman’s face.

Lucien noticed it immediately.

He did not like it.

Lilith stopped before his desk.

"We’re finished."

Lucien looked up.

"Everything?"

She nodded.

"Seren and the others are performing the final verification now, but the construction itself is complete."

Lucien relaxed slightly.

That was good news.

The World Fortification Plan had occupied an enormous amount of manpower, resources, and attention.

Now, the emergency systems across the five continents were in place.

"Good."

Lilith smiled.

Then silence settled between them.

Lucien remembered something.

Her reward.

His expression stiffened.

Lilith noticed.

Before he could say anything, she spoke first.

"I’ll take my reward after we finish the worldwide authority training ground."

Lucien blinked.

"You don’t want it now?"

His voice came out more cautious than he intended.

Lilith shook her head.

"I’m not selfish enough to put myself first when there is still something this important left to finish."

Lucien stared at her.

For once, no joke appeared in his mind.

He simply felt proud.

...

There had been a time when Lucien had known how Lilith’s life was supposed to unfold.

Before he interfered.

Before everything changed.

If events had followed their original course, Starforge would have suffered.

Anvil-Horn would have died.

Lilith would have disappeared beneath grief and anger.

Years later, she would have returned stronger and harder.

A hero shaped by loss and revenge.

Lucien had changed that future completely.

Anvil-Horn lived.

Starforge survived.

Lilith never needed revenge to become strong.

Yet standing before him now, Lucien finally understood something.

Fate had never needed tragedy to make her remarkable.

She had always possessed the qualities that could have turned her into someone capable of leading others.

Responsibility.

Stubbornness.

The ability to work until everyone around her became exhausted just by watching.

And, underneath all of that, a genuine willingness to place something larger than herself first.

Lootwell would not have become what it was without her.

Even if Lucien had never existed, he could imagine Lilith eventually standing at the center of some other civilization, dragging it forward through sheer refusal to let things remain unfinished.

Lucien looked at her for a little too long.

Lilith shifted awkwardly.

"What?"

Lucien said nothing.

She scratched her cheek.

Then she suddenly added, "I’m still taking the reward, though."

Lucien almost laughed.

Of course.

"I already discussed it with Sister Seraphine."

The amusement disappeared from his face.

Lucien straightened.

"You discussed your reward with Seraphine?"

Lilith looked away.

His earlier premonition returned immediately.

"Why did you talk to her instead of me?"

Lilith remained silent.

That was worse than an answer.

Lucien stared at her.

Lilith continued studying a very interesting section of the wall.

His expression slowly changed.

He suddenly understood why the two women had been laughing earlier.

He did not understand what they had planned.

That was the frightening part.

Lilith eventually smiled at him.

Lucien decided that ignorance might still be safer.

For now.

•••

Over the next several days, the rest of the fortification teams returned.

Anvil-Horn arrived with Eirene, several Lunarians, and Celestials.

Seren returned with Morphy and the other craftsmen who had spent months moving between major construction points.

Lootwell became noticeably louder.

People who had been scattered across the five continents for months were finally back.

Reports followed them.

Most were good.

Anvil-Horn personally delivered the final Tidewatch summary.

"We sent independent teams through the main coastal sections again," he said. "Detection coverage is stable. Response stations are connected. The deeper nodes are holding without drift."

Lucien nodded.

"Good."

Anvil-Horn rolled one shoulder.

Lucien looked at everyone who had returned.

They looked tired. Tired in the particular way people became after finishing something enormous and only realizing afterward how long they had been working.

Lucien made the decision immediately.

"One week."

Several people looked at him.

"Rest for one week before we start anything else."

Anvil-Horn’s eyes brightened.

"Good."

He stretched his back dramatically.

"My old bones have been complaining about nonstop forging for months."

Lucien felt slightly guilty.

"Sorry, Uncle."

Anvil-Horn stared at him.

Then laughed.

"GAHAHA! What are you apologizing for?"

His enormous hand came down on Lucien’s shoulder.

Lucien’s body dipped slightly.

The strength behind the friendly gesture was enough to make an ordinary person reconsider having shoulders at all.

Lucien almost choked.

Anvil-Horn laughed harder.

"Building is what I enjoy. Especially when the thing being built has never existed before."

Lucien rubbed his shoulder.

That somehow made him feel better.

Then Anvil-Horn leaned closer.

His voice dropped.

"If you marry my daughter, I’ll even build you a bridge from here to the moon."

Lucien went still.

Anvil-Horn immediately straightened and burst into laughter again.

Lucien stared at him.

The older Solhorn grinned.

"Don’t look so frightened. Take your time."

He waved one hand.

"You young people always act as though everything needs to happen tomorrow. We have long lives."

Then he walked away, still laughing.

Lucien watched him leave.

His shoulder hurt.

His head hurt more.

At least Anvil-Horn had not made the matter difficult.

That counted as mercy.

Probably.

•••

The others scattered to rest.

Seren disappeared toward her residence almost immediately.

Morphy went with several craftsmen who had already begun discussing food before leaving the hall.

The Lunarians separated into smaller groups.

Some headed toward the Stillness Palace.

Others returned to their temporary quarters.

Eirene remained.

Lucien noticed her immediately.

She was in her Stillbloom Moonbody.

The transformation had changed more than her appearance.

Moonlight seemed to cling to her without truly illuminating anything.

Her skin carried the faintest pale sheen.

Her eyes looked clearer than before, almost as though reflections of distant moons rested inside them.

The Lunarians’ behavior around her had changed too.

They already knew Eirene well and had always respected her as the first Lunarian.

But seeing her in the Stillbloom Moonbody was different.

It was not a form they were accustomed to seeing her use, and the blend of her Lunarian and Floran aspects made her presence feel even more ethereal.

Several of them could not help looking at her with renewed admiration.

Eirene did not explain the form in detail.

She simply accepted their reactions calmly.

Then her gaze found Lucien.

For a moment, the noise around them seemed less important.

Eirene smiled softly.

Lucien smiled back.

Nothing needed to be said.

They both knew what had changed.

They both knew what still remained unfinished.

And neither felt the need to explain it to everyone else.

The moment passed quietly.

Then Eirene turned toward the Stillness Palace.

Lucien watched her leave.

Another piece had fallen into place.